Best $1,500 Watch

Watch Snob: How To Get The Most For $1,500

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Hint: Look beyond the Swiss.

The Watch Snob is in.

Your Best Bet For $1,500

Dear Snob,

My dad is a serious collector of crappy watches. He loves buying them and wearing new ones, and getting asked about unique ones. I have a feeling he's trying to find "the watch" without spending too much. Which we both know can't really be done. He grew up on a farm in Nebraska and, with the exception of never leaving a Fossil store without a new watch, never buys anything for himself. He would just never spend more than a couple hundred bucks on a timepiece. His best are probably a couple Citizen Eco-Drive watches that he cycles into the rotation. But he really does appreciate good mechanical things.

For his 60th birthday, I'd like to get him a real Swiss automatic watch. Now, as I put my thumbs behind my suspenders and tell the judge, "Ahm no big-city law-yuh," I hope you won't ridicule my $1,500 budget. I've read this column and appreciate the epic eye roll that previous Hapsburg-jawed real-life snobs are probably giving me. But I'm serious and I don't really know who else to turn to. Nobody I know cares about fine watches. I'd like to get him something that he can wear a lot: golf, dinner, parties and vacations. Something versatile and tough. And nothing too understated -- I think he loves it when people ask him where he got whatever watch he's wearing. I hope you can give me some guidance, I'm running out of time!

What you lack in funds, you certainly make up for in sincerity and cleverness. Normally, I would have clicked delete after reading "$1,500." So congratulations on dragging me into yet another question about bourgeois watches. But don’t think for a minute that I condone anything in your budget, unless you manage to stumble upon a more clueless Nebraska farmer than your father who happens to have a pre-Moon Speedmaster and doesn’t know what it’s worth.

The answer I typically trot out in response to similarly impecunious readers is to “buy vintage,” but in this case, I don’t think it will get the proper tender loving care it deserves from a man who favors Fossils. No, I’m going to instead suggest that you skip right past the Swiss, who have spent too many decades fattening up on their reputation and have fattened their prices to suit. But don’t think I’m headed to the Far East. I’m not that desperate. No, I suggest a German watch. The Germans, whether due to some collective chip on their shoulders or simply because they’re still considered horological underdogs, are still hungry and offer great timepieces for less-than-comparable Swiss watches.

Of course, $1,500 still doesn’t get you much, but if you’re willing to stretch a bit, you can find an in-house-built NOMOS Club, Ludwig or Tangente from Glashütte for considerably less than $2,000. These are the hand-wound models, mind you, so your father is going to have to get used to winding his watch every day -- probably no small challenge for a man used to wearing an Eco-Drive. But you said he loves when people ask him where he got his watch. And a mechanical watch handmade in a small German town is far more interesting than a circuit board printed in Malaysia. Even to someone from Nebraska.

What's The Right Size For A Watch?

Snob,

I seek your advice regarding a possible third purchase to round off my collection (you did say a proper man requires three). The Royal Oak has been on my mind for quite a while now, but the recent size change from 39 mm to 41 mm left me in a quandary. I had a chance to try both on recently, and although the 39 seems more appropriate and more affordable, I'm feeling the pressure to stick with the trends. If RO is supersizing, then it must be the right thing to do... right?

If Miles Davis starts playing fusion, it must be right. If Roger Moore becomes James Bond, it must be right…

Icons fail us, dear reader, and though I have great respect for Audemars Piguet, it is not immune to mistakes. Don’t get me started on the Royal Oak Offshore. The original Royal Oak is still the finest sports watch ever made. Increasing its size to 41 mm serves only to diminish it. Fortunately, AP showed us it hasn't been spending too much time in Miami, and there is still the fine 39 mm Extra-Thin reference in the lineup. And that is still the one to get.

Question from a Watch Knob

Should a man hold off purchasing a nicer car so he can afford a nicer watch?

Define “nicer” car. On second thought, never mind. If you need to skimp on a car to afford a watch, your definition of a nice car does not match mine. Get the watch.